Executive Committee of Eco-Park Estate Home Owners Association NPC v L.L. Mokone and B.M.C. Mokone

The applicant, the Executive Committee of Eco-Park Estate Home Owners Association NPC, is a homeowners association and community scheme regulated under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011. The respondents, L.L. Mokone and B.M.C. Mokone, are the joint registered owners of 262 Rose Avenue in the scheme. The applicant alleged that the respondents had fallen into arrears on their levy account for more than three months. Debt collection steps had been taken without success. The applicant, through its managing agent acting under a signed mandate, filed a CSOS application seeking payment of the outstanding levies and interest. It produced an up-to-date levy history statement showing that as at March 2024 the respondents owed R10 221.92. Despite being invited twice by CSOS to provide submissions, the respondents filed no response and did not dispute either liability or quantum.

• Whether the CSOS adjudicator had jurisdiction under sections 38, 39, 48, 50 and related provisions of the CSOS Act to determine the levy dispute.
• Whether the respondents, as members/owners in the homeowners association, were liable under the scheme's Memorandum of Incorporation to pay levies and interest.
• Whether the applicant proved on a balance of probabilities that the respondents were indebted in the amount of R10 221.92 as at March 2024.
• Whether it was appropriate to grant a repayment order, including instalment payments and an acceleration clause upon default.

Application upheld. The respondents were ordered, jointly and severally, to pay the applicant R10 221.92, including interest, as at March 2024. Payment was to be made in five equal instalments of R2 044.38, the first on 1 April 2024 and the remaining four on the first business day of each of the following four consecutive months from 1 May 2024. The respondents were also ordered to continue paying regular monthly levies and ancillary charges. If they defaulted on any one instalment, the full outstanding amount would become immediately due and payable. There was no order as to costs.

Owners who are members of a homeowners association are contractually and statutorily bound by the scheme's Memorandum of Incorporation to pay levies and applicable interest. In a CSOS adjudication, where the applicant provides competent documentary proof of arrears and authority to act, and the respondents do not dispute the claim, the adjudicator may accept the applicant's version as uncontested and grant an order for payment under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. Levy obligations are enforceable as part of the governance framework of the community scheme.

The adjudicator remarked that 'levies are the lifeblood of a HOA' and that directors cannot perform their functions in the absence of funds from owners. These statements explain the practical importance of levy collection but are general observations rather than independent binding legal findings. The discussion of the purpose of the order as bringing closure while taking account of the respondents' rights and duties is also non-binding commentary.

The matter is a straightforward but important illustration of the CSOS levy-recovery mechanism available to homeowners associations. It confirms that CSOS adjudicators may grant payment orders for arrear levies under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act and that HOA members remain bound by the Memorandum of Incorporation to pay levies. The decision also reflects the practical approach that where a respondent does not dispute the claim, documentary proof of indebtedness may suffice to establish liability on a balance of probabilities. It reinforces the principle in South African community schemes law that levies are essential to the functioning of a scheme and are enforceable notwithstanding member dissatisfaction or silence.